Favorite Books for 6th Grade from 6th Graders

October 26, 2011

Best Books for 6th Grade by Ninety 6th Grade Students

I was my daughter’s middle school visiting day when I chanced upon a wall of “first day get to know you” papers. There were the usual questions like “favorite color” and “what elementary school did you attend?” but I honed in on “favorite book.” Most of these sixth graders had a favorite chapter book but a few did not which made me sad.

Since these sixth graders filled out this questionaire during the first day of school, this list would also be great for fifth graders.

I have also added two new chapter books that 6th graders will love.

For Girls:

How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston (soon to be a TV show on WB)

p.s. I found it so interesting the wide range of interests and levels of newly minted 6th graders. They are reading everything from adult literature to fantasy adventure to Karl Sagan non-fiction. I guess it goes to show you that the middle school kid is everywhere on the spectrum from adult-like to still child-like.

9 Comments

Wow – glad you nominated Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat. One of the 20th Century’s children’s Classics, but nearly lost forever, because of the London bombing Blitz? I loved the book – told to our children at bedtime – then discovered the story behind the story, which led me to write the author’s biography – Through the Magic Door, published this year on Ursula’s centenary by Northumbria Press, an imprint of Northumbria University, UK. She had a remarkable life – just as inspirational as those of her brave, fictional heroes.

To Colin,
It was actually a 6th grader who chose Gobbolino the Witch’s cat as his or her very favorite book. I didn’t recognize the title but I am glad to have discovered it. Thanks for your comment. You are making me want to hunt it down and read it!

Hi Mia,
Another great list, thanks for sharing! I’ll send this to my daughter as well; she’s already shared the other list with her friends. Keep up the great work!
Lindalinda recently posted…Escape from San Francisco Picnic

I love how varied this list is. I know from watching my daughter’s reading choices (she just happens to be a sixth grader) that her favorites often surprise me. It’s always interesting to see what grabs her attention.Sherrie Petersen recently posted…Author Spotlight: Kendell Shaffer

Hi Sherrie,
The list was fun because it was the ice breaker for my daughter’s 6th grade team. They had to fill out a questionaire about themselves including their favorite book. There were many books new to me and I was also surprised at the range of books including adult books that made the list. They were barely 6th graders so it’s really what they liked in 5th grade!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Why Kids Should Keep Up with Science News

Thanks so much Lindsey! It was fun to see the wide range of books that my daughter’s 6th grade team chose on their first day of 6th grade!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Why Kids Should Keep Up with Science News

Mia I work at Forrestdale Middle School in Rumson, NJ as the a.m. media specialist. I love your articles! Thank you for your good insight, research and pertinant information! I’ve actually done a display challenging the students to see if they’re as well read as the 90 6th graders on your list: “Are you as well-read as these 6th graders?” I would love a pic of the kids (one class) and since I don’t know where it is I don’t think it would infringe on any privacy laws. If you can’t, I understand, it just would be nice for our kids to actually see “the” kids I’m talking about and challenging them to connect literarily with! Thank you, Kim Robinson

Hi Kim,
You are so nice to make a board on that post. Unfortunately, it was my oldest when she was in 6th grade — now she is in 9th grade — and it was just her “team” of 90 kids. There are 270 kids in her grade. I don’t think there is a photo of her team; I got the information from the form they posted on the hallways.